Justin Bieber's monkey becomes German property

Updated 8:04 pm, Tuesday, May 21, 2013

FILE - In this April 2, 2013 file picture, Capuchin monkey "Mally" sits on the head of an employee in an animal shelter in Munich, Germany. Justin Bieber's pet monkey is set to become the property of Germany. Mally the Monkey was seized by German customs March 28 when Bieber failed to produce required vaccination and import papers for the animal after landing in Munich. He said the customs authority will formally transfer ownership of the animal to the German state on Tuesday May 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

FILE - In this April 2, 2013 file picture, Capuchin monkey "Mally"...

German Minister for Environment Peter Altmaier visits Justin Bieber's capuchin monkey Mally at the animal shelter in Munich southern Germany, Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Justin Bieber's pet monkey is now the property of Germany. Mally was seized by German customs March 28 when Bieber failed to produce required vaccination and import papers for the animal after landing in Munich for a European tour. He had until midnight Friday to produce those documents. Customs spokesman Thomas Meister said the customs authority issued an order later Tuesday formally transferring ownership of the animal to the German state. (AP Photo/dpa, Peter Kneffel)

The capuchin monkey named Mally was seized by German customs on March 28 when the 19-year-old Canadian pop star failed to produce the required vaccination and import papers after landing in Munich for a European tour.

Authorities issued an order Tuesday transferring ownership of the animal to Germany after Bieber missed a deadline to send the documents, customs spokesman Thomas Meister said.

Bieber has six weeks to contest the decision.

Mally, now 20 weeks old, was being cared for at Munich's animal shelter. He has fared well and gained weight and even got a visit Tuesday from Germany's environment minister.

"We are going to make sure that Mally can grow up appropriately for its species," said minister Peter Altmaier.

The shelter has criticized Bieber for keeping such a young monkey as a pet, saying it shouldn't have been taken away from its mother until it was a year old. Experts say capuchin monkeys also need to be kept in groups, not alone.

"Monkeys are very sociable animals," Altmaier added. "That's why we're going to take Mally to a place where he can live safely and in the company of others."